The Beginning
by Gumi Reloaded
Summary: The year is 2040 and seven-year-old Shintaro is given a choice that could change his life forever. But is Takani Hiroshi really out to help others or does he have his own agenda?


Date: May 2nd, 2040  
Time: Afternoon  
Place: The Hamada House, Soeda, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu  
Characters: Shintaro, Takani Hiroshi

**Shintaro**

They were watching about the war. They were always watching about the war. He sat on his haunches on the narrow steps and watched them watching, glued to the blue and gray of the TV. Reporters spoke over the clatter of gunfire in anxious voices they couldn't quite hide. The adults were scared.

Shintaro sat flat on his butt on the steps and pulled Nezumi the Mouse plushie onto his lap. She was worn and frayed just like he was with a whisker and a black eye missing. She wasn't his, though, but Mika's who was in the hospital. On her way to the best place, the adults said, but with the smiles that meant they meant something else. She was going to go away soon, he knew. She wasn't even adopted. Just held here, like him, because the orphanage had run out of funs. Everything was running out of funs. That was all the adults talked about too. War and funs.

He sighed and looked outside at the bright day. He wanted to go outside and walk to the park and swing a stick around. Or maybe climb on the monkey bars or pet the nice dogs. But he had to stay in the house with the others. He didn't really know the others that well. There were two little girls. Sisters. Who didn't speak because of their parents, and an older sour faced boy who seemed pretty lonely.

"Oh, change the channel," Yuna-san said. Keniichi-san did and a talk show came on. Shintaro had never seen them watch a talk show or anything other than the news. Even as they watched it, though, their shoulders were stiff and beads of sweat gleamed on the top of Keniichi-san's bald spot. They were scared. Someone was coming. He heard the car outside and Yuna-san turned the TV off. For a moment the adults sat and stared at the blank screen. There was a knock on the door.

Shintaro set the mouse plushie aside and went to answer it.

**Takani**

Takani was behind schedule.

He rapped again on the door of Hamada residence, waited a couple of seconds, then knocked again.

While he could appreciate the discretion that Hamada-san and his wife had shown to date, he could not and would not tolerate being taken of schedule and decided as he knocked for the third time, that perhaps, he really ought to look elsewhere for assistance with his important project.

The door opened.

Takani looked down, his black eyes widening a little in surprise at the child (one who had not been tested) who had opened it.

The boy was perhaps 5 or 6. This was unremarkable.  
The geneticist however was fascinated with the child's atypical hair color. It was red.  
(How...interesting)

Takani smiled, slightly and knelt down so he could look more closely at the boy. Red hair of course was caused by a variation in the Mc1r gene and was recessive. It also had the highest amounts of pheomelanin (which was important to his studies) around 67%, and usually low levels of eumelanin (which didn't matter at all). At 1-2% of the population, it was the least common hair color in the world.

Add to this, eyes so blue that they appeared almost violet. The doctor leaned toward the boy, peering carefully at the child's eyes. True violet or red eyes signified some sort of albinism, which would render the child useless. He smiled, relieved to see that they eyes were in fact blue, a trait this child shared with only 2.2% of the world's population.

(How delightful) A child in Japan registering two recessive traits.

Takani was pleased. Perhaps business could continue with the Hamada's, pending of course the satisfactory discussion regarding the genetic anomaly standing before him.

"Hello, my boy, " Takani smiled. "I was wondering if you could help me find Hamada-san. I need to speak with her, please."

**Shintaro**

Shintaro was used to being stared at. Adults did it every day, kids sometimes, too. They liked his hair and his eyes, the adults did. Though sometimes they said it bought bad luck. The kids liked to stare because he was an orphan- Though there were a lot of them now. He wiggled his loose tooth in thought as the man crouched to look him in the eye. He had a nice smile but his eyes were dark like the space between stars.

"Hamada-san is scared. Maybe you should come back later." He looked like a healthy man, too. Not old or sick or anything. "Shouldn't you be fighting in the war?"

**Takani**

"She's scared, is she?" Takani asked, trying to gauge the approximate intelligence of the boy. His affect was normal, his focus excellent.

When the child looked him over just as carefully, Takani was pleased. Very pleased. This signified confidence. Leadership potential.

When the boy asked him why he wasn't fighting in the way, he actually grinned at the boy, ruffling his hair slightly in an almost paternal fashion. (And there is the deductive reasoning I was looking for. What an excellent specimen.)

"I am fighting in the war," Takani said truthfully, "I am a member of the military, a doctor in fact. My job is to help protect people."

He stood up. "You said that poor Hamada-san is frightened. She is an acquaintance of mine. Perhaps I can help her feel safe."

He smiled down at the boy. "What is your name, Son?"

**Shintaro**

You're a doctor?" Maybe he was here to help Mika. Except Mika didn't have anything to do with the war. He liked the idea of helping to protect people and put away that thought for later. The man was strange but must be nice because he protected and was a doctor and ruffled his hair.

"You should help Hamada-san feel better. She's very sad but she tries really hard. She was just watching about the war so try not to mention it, please. I don't think she likes it."

The man's next question made Shintaro pause. Old Yozo-san from the old house had told him never to tell anything to strangers. But even though the man knew Hamada-san, Shintaro didn't know him, making him a stranger. He wiggled his loose tooth a moment and then said:

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you. But if you stay for a while and I learn your name, maybe that will be okay."

**Takani**

Takani nodded pleasantly as the child chattered about inconsequential matters.

"Of course, not" he said with a smile. "I will take care not to mention the unfortunate war." Truthfully, it was a promise he could keep, not discussing the war. What good was there discussing an armed conflict when there was opportunity to address it directly. The Hamada's, this child, every child he'd found so far and would find, he himself, were merely tools that should and would be wielded for the greater good of the country and for the advancement of the human species. "If there is a way to assist Hamada-san, you can be assured that I will see to it."

He knew that the best way to wipe a glum expression off of the couple's face was with hard currency, something he was flush with. This child would fetch higher than market price, something he knew that the grasping man and woman would find favorable.

He nodded when the child refused to disclose his name. It was an indicator of intelligence and self-preservation (not that the instinct would do the boy much good). "That sounds wise, young man. My name is Takani-sensei. I have three little boys, one of whom is about your age, perhaps a little older." There was another child who didn't merit mentioning.

"Why don't you take me to see poor Hamada-san? Let's see if we can help her feel a bit better shall we?"

**Shintaro**

Shintaro peered at him for a little longer. The man spoke to him calmly, like he was another adult, and his eyes were really dark. Three boys. Shintaro thought about this, too. Imagining three boys with dark eyes and serious faces. He wondered if they were friends. He nodded at this news and to help Hamada-san feel better.

He backed away from the door and waited for Takani-sensei to take off his shoes so that Shintaro could straighten them. Since Takani-sensei was in the house now, he was a guest, and it wasn't nice to be rude to guests. He didn't think he could say his name but- maybe he could say something else about names.

"In old times, you know, Sensei said that a lot of people didn't have last names," Shintaro said, watching Takani-san undo his laces. "That you had to be special. An' I'm like old times, cuz I don't have one either. At least I don't think so. They just found me wandering with my name on my shirt." That was when he was three so a long time ago. Whenever he thought back all he could remember was smoke and a car.

Takani-sensei's shoes were off and Shintaro carefully moved them to the side then lead Takani-sensei to the living room. Neither of the Hamadas was there but voices and crying upstairs told him they were in the girl's room.

"Wait here, please," Shintaro said. Before he could go upstairs, though, Yuna-san came down, her face twisted like a lemon. She pushed Shintaro behind her and he dutifully went to sit on the stairs, pulling the stuffed toy in his lap.

"We've no one for you," Yuna-san said in a tight voice.

**Takani **

Takani looked long and hard at the woman, his eyebrow rising slightly at the sallow faced female's response.

"You say that, Hamada-san, as if you have a say in the matter, which we both know you don't."

There was an old American saying that he'd picked up in his studies, a saying that went along the lines of being caught up in something "lock, stock and barrel". Hamada-san and her husband were already committed and had been from the time they accepted funds (legally tendered) for a child in their keeping.

"That one," he spoke quietly, motioning towards the boy, "will be coming with me."

**Shintaro**

For someone who helped people, Takani-sensei sounded kind of mean. Shintaro didn't like the way Yuna-san spoke, like she was scared, and he didn't like Takani-sensei's voice either that sounded like heavy boots. This was a bad thing that was happening. He could feel it in his tummy. It always fluttered when there were bad things happening.

Shintaro blinked as Takani-san waved at him and said:

_"That one will be coming with me."_

Shintaro looked behind him but there was no one on the stairs. And Yuna-san went really white as he said it. Staring at him with big eyes.

"No I won't," Shintaro said, standing. "Yuna-san doesn't want me to go, so I think I should stay here, Takani-sensei. She would be scared and you said we wouldn't scare her." He frowned fiercely at the man who should know better.

"Shintaro-chan..." Yuna-san said, putting a hand to her throat and slumping in a seat.

**Takani**

Takani smiled and walked over to where the boy was standing so defiantly on the steps. He crouched down so he could look the child in the eyes.

"You are right my boy, we should not scare poor Yuna-san. She has...very delicate health, as does her husband." It went without saying that the woman knew exactly how delicate her current state of health was. Takani was on government business and had a mandate to make his project a success, no matter the material cost. The Hamadas were already considered project collateral and once their usefulness had ended, so would their lives.

"I am asking you to come with me because I can tell that you are special. You want to protect people, people like Yuna-san who are weak and afraid and completely unable to protect themselves and those they love against those things and people in the world who would wish them harm."

"It is our duty, Shintaro-san, to protect those people who cannot protect themselves. You have a brave heart." Takani's black eyes flickered faintly with some unseen emotion. "That is a very rare thing, perhaps even rarer than those violet eyes of yours."

"If you choose to come with me and learn to what it means to become strong, you will help protect Yuna-san, her husband and all the children who live in this home. Your willingness to help me will help them."

Takani wondered at his reasons for even bothering to have a rational discussion with the boy. Perhaps he wanted a child, especially one with so much potential, to come willingly with him.

**Shintaro**

Takani-sensei came over to him. He had eyes like the snake that Shintaro had seen once. They were really black and it was hard to tell what he felt. Shintaro could see himself reflected in them and watched them as the adult spoke.

Protect people. His face flushed with heat and little icy mouse feet went down his insides. Protect people. Yuna-san and the sisters and Mika and the people in Soeda... Shintaro's eyes widened as the man said he had a brave heart. He didn't feel like he had one. Could the man's black eyes see it? What else could he see?

"Can...can I really help people?" he said. "If I get strong. Can I help them? Can I make the war stop? Can I do that?" Then everyone could have funs since no one liked a war. And maybe Yuna-san would smile and Mika would get better and someone nice would be glad to have a boy who had helped stop the war.

**Takani**

"Yes, Shintaro-chan. You can really help people if you are willing to do that it takes to become strong," Takani said emphatically. While there were many things he said that were, by necessity, untrue, this statement was absolutely correct.

"There is a saying in my family, one that I have taught my boys," he thought for an instant about his children, of his sons who were, despite his best efforts, never going to have the opportunities they deserved to live a full, rewarding life thanks to the inferior genetic material they'd received from their wretched mother. Two were already dead, victims of a ravaging disease. The third was a cripple, doomed to exist in a wretched, unhealthy body for the rest of his life.

The other offspring, with the exception of having a series of potentially useful mutations, didn't bear a second thought. She'd failed him, failed her family and any good legacy by having two X chromosomes.

Useless...his children, all of them were useless.

He looked at the small child and wondered what sort of legacy he could have claimed with one such child to call his own.

"With great risk can come great reward." He smiled down at the child, "Saving and protecting people is not easy, Shintaro-chan. Becoming strong takes time and can be difficult. But if you persevere...and work hard, you can become the type of person, the type of brave solider that can protect the weak, and even stop a war."

Takani patted the boy on the shoulder. "I know that you will make the right choice, because you are a good boy and don't want people to suffer needlessly."

**Shintaro**

Shintaro shook a little, but he wasn't sure why. This was exciting but scary, too. Takani-sensei's voice was still heavy but his words they were...they were good. They felt good. He could stop the war. He could help people. He could get strong. He really could!

But...he wondered why Takani-sensei stopped when he spoke of his boys. It was hard to read his snake eyes but sometimes adults paused when they were sad. When they felt lonely. Were his boys gone? Were they sick. He wondered if he could touch Takani-sensei's shoulders but before he could, the man looked at him again.

"With great risk comes reward," Shintaro murmured. Becoming a brave soldier. The war looked scary but...but most of the people were bigger so maybe he could run under their legs. And...and even if it was scary, being strong to protect the weak was _important_.

Takani-sensei touched his shoulder and called him a good boy.

"I don't think fighting is a good thing. But...protecting people is a good thing. So...I'll be strong, Takani-sensei." He held out his hand for the doctor to hold it. "Help me be strong and help people like you."

"Shintaro!" Yuna-san gasped. She was sad. Scared. Shintaro smiled at her.

"It will be okay, Yuna-san. I'll be back soon and the war will be over!"

**Takani**

"Yes, great risk carries the potential for very great reward, my boy. Great reward indeed."

He glanced at Hamada-san and gave her a thin smile at her worried little outburst. She'd risked much by trying to forestall this child's participation in the project, and would also be "rewarded" quickly for her lack of compliance with this critical project.

His attention was recaptured by the child. He listed as the boy announced that he wanted to be strong and help and protect those who could not protect themselves.

Such innocence was foolhardy. He wondered how long the child would manage to retain it upon entering the program.

It will be okay, Yuna-san. I'll be back soon and the war will be over!

**Takani**

Takani shook the boy's little hand. It was soft, devoid of any signs of hardship or military training. That would change almost immediately. He then continued to hold it as he moved to escort the child out of the home.

"I am sure that Yuna-san will await eagerly for your return." Takani smiled at the boy. He'd never see this woman or anyone in this pathetic house again. "When you arrive at your new home, you can write her and tell her about all the things are doing to become strong."

Takani then nodded slightly at the frightened woman. "Someone will be sent soon to address proper matters of compensation for you and your family."

**Shintaro**

His hand was smooth and cold and bony. But hard work people had rough hands, didn't they? Takani-sensei's hands weren't very rough and he held Shintaro very securely as if he didn't want to let him go. It should be a good feeling but Shintaro wasn't sure why it didn't feel that way. He wiggled his loose tooth, wishing it would come out so that he could leave it here and Yuna-san would remember him.

He looked up at Takani-sensei's words, frowning slightly as the man smiled at him and sighed at the end of his words. He said he would make sure they'd be...con...what was that word? What did it mean? He wiggled at his tooth more, but it was too tough right now. It made him sad. But he was strong so he wouldn't cry.

Shintaro let Takani-sensei lead him outside and the air seemed cold even though it probably wasn't. His tooth still in his mouth. He looked up at the man again.

"I'm not gonna come back, am I?" Because adults always made the same promises when he wasn't going to come back.

**Takani**

Takani glanced down at the child, his black, flinty eyes fixing on the child.

"Whether you come back or not, Shintaro-chan, depends entirely on you. If you work hard and become strong, then yes, eventually you can choose to come back to this place, if you desire to. If you do as I tell you and become as strong as I suspect you can be, you'll be able to do anything that you put your mind to."

Of course if the boy did come back here, he'd return to an empty house with all traces of the Hamada family wiped clean from all public and private records.

He opened the back seat of the government issued sedan and helped the boy inside, taking great care to ensure that the child was properly strapped in the seat-belt. He was after all, precious cargo.

"We are going to go on a trip, Shintaro-chan. Tell me, have you ever been in an airplane before?"

**Shintaro**

He was shaking even more when he got in the car. Sitting down. Takani-sensei strapping him in made it seem like ties instead of safety. It wasn't like Yuna-san. He sucked on his tooth and blinked hard, wishing he hadn't left Mika's mouse plushie on the steps. But she would want it when she got back. And...and he had to be strong. He had to help people.

"It's okay if I don't go back," Shintaro said, softly, telling himself. "If I'm going to be stronger, I have to go ahead." He pressed his fingers against the cool glass as the house slipped further behind. No one even came out to wave goodbye. His eyes stung and he closed them tight, shaking his head at Takani-sensei's question.

He would be okay. That he would. Shintaro kept his eyes closed, one hand balled into a fist on his lap and the other clutching the strap of the seatbelt as it rested against his shoulder, pretending he was stronger, pretending it was a sword.


End file.
